Top 3 Negative Things You Didn’t Know About Paris

Ever since you were watching Anastasia as a little kid, you’ve probably been romanticizing Paris as being this wonderful place full of music and nice people which never goes to sleep – not even at night. Indeed, Paris is a beautiful place that is full of lights… but that can also be brain wrecking if you don’t do your homework beforehand. There are a couple of thing in Paris which, while they may not be life-threatening, they can sure be annoying and put a dark spot on your holiday. Here are top 3 of them:

Everything closes during lunch break: If you’ve been visiting all morning and you want to get a snack from your favorite small food shop or fromagerie, you’d better get used to your stomach growling. When the clock chimes lunch time, every shop closes for an average of 3 hours – and therefore, your only chance of eating something is by going to some fancy restaurant (which will most likely need a reservation). Plus, most of them close Sunday at 1 and don’t open the doors until Tuesday. So if God forbid you got hungry on Monday, you would either have to starve or, once more, go to some fancy restaurant. One of the catchphrases in Paris seems to be C’est pas possible, meaning it’s not possible. So if you want to eat… tough luck.

No hot drinks after 9pm: If you’re looking for a hot drink such as an espresso after a certain hour, you will be once more faced with c’est pas possible. Although proper dinner hours are followed with diligence by the French, if you want to replace a glass of wine with a hot chocolate, you won’t have any luck. It’s most likely from the belief that people go out in the evening to have a drink – but if it’s something that is not pulled out of the fridge, then it’s a very big no. The only place where you can get a hot drink is the Starbucks chains which are still on American business style.

Crowds: If you wanted a nice, quiet walk in the park, then it’s too bad for you. Paris is swarming every day with tourists, turning a walk to the bus or metro station into an epic journey through a Middle Earth war zone. Things are generally like this: you walk around, veer left to avoid bumping into a person, get bumped by another back to the ring and then another one pushes you back into the left before you even have time to adjust. If you enjoy the hustle and bustle, then it’s ok. If not, you may want to figure out places to go that don’t have crowds.

Once you’ve figured out your itinerary, the first thing you may want to do is book a Paris airport taxi. Unlike public taxis waiting outside the terminal for whoever comes out first, these ones will be waiting exclusively for you. You don’t even have to worry that you will miss your ride if the plane is late because the driver will be notified of the delay. Plus, you can pick the car and they will take you to your destination at a cheap price.